Fall of the Berlin Wall

November 9 marks the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany.

To celebrate, the city of Berlin will be hosting a week-long festival featuring interactive exhibits and art installations throughout the city.

The events will commemorate the day when East Germans were finally able to cross into West Germany for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Before then, people on either side of the wall were unable to move freely across this boundary.

The Berlin Wall was first erected in 1961.

It was designed to keep the citizens of communist East Berlin from migrating to the more prosperous West Berlin.

Like Germany itself, the city was divided by the Allies after 1945, when the Germans lost the Second World War.

Standing up to 5 meters tall and covered with barbed wire, the wall was a powerful symbol of  how differently people lived on each side.

The Western side, for example, was covered with colorful graffiti painted by people who lived there.

The Eastern side, on the other hand, was protected by a strip of land where soldiers would shoot anyone who got too close.

In 1989, the new leader of East Germany announced that anyone who wanted to cross the border could do so.

Immediately, crowds on both sides of the wall rushed out and began chipping away at the structure.

The wall was completely knocked down in 1990  - at the end of the Cold War - thanks to an agreement between the United States and the collapsing Soviet Union.

After that, East and West Berlin were reunified, along with the rest of Germany.

Today, Berlin is known as a hub for the arts and other creative professions.

This year's celebrations will serve to remind Berliners of their difficult history while pointing toward a brighter future.

 

• mark  mɑːrk   (표기호 등으로) 표시하다 /   (외관상 얼룩 같은) 표, 흔적, 자국, 흠집, 상처 자국, 반점, 멍

• feature  ˈfiːtʃə(r)  특색, 특징, 특성 (→water feature)  /  특별히 포함하다, 특징으로 삼다

• installation  ˌɪnstəˈleɪʃn  (장비·가구의) 설치[설비]   (기계) 장치

• commemorate  kəˈmeməreɪt   (중요 인물·사건을) 기념하다

• erect  ɪˈrekt   건립하다  / 똑바로 선 (=straight)   발기한, 일어선

• communist  |kɑːmjənɪst  공산주의자

• prosperous  |prɑːspərəs  번영한, 번창한 (=affluent)

• Ally  ˈælaɪ  동맹국

• barbed  bɑːrbd  가시가 돋친  barbed wire  철조망

• strip  strɪp  옷을 벗다[벗기다]  / 좁고 긴 땅

• chip away  (…을) 조금씩 잘라내다((at)), 벗겨지다  ,   (자존심·희망 따위가) 서서히 사라지다   chip  tʃɪp  이가 빠진 흔적 /  이가 빠지다[빠지게 하다]

• structure  ˈstrʌktʃə(r)  구조물, 건축물 /  조직하다, 구조화하다

• reunify  ˌriːˈjuːnɪfaɪ   재통합[재통일]하다